I finally have internet in my apartment - hip hip hooray!
After two weeks at Rand, I feel like I’ve been there for months – in a good way. Last summer I inadvertently ended up with an office, while my fellow summer associates slaved away in cubicles. This summer, my workspace is in a converted conference room where they have lined the three main walls with desks and planted an intern on each wall. I don’t mind it, except that my desk is positioned on the back wall, so anytime anyone comes into the conference room they can see my computer screen (and likely facebook or email that is distracting me from real work). I also miss seeing the outside world – last year my office didn’t have a window, but the office across the hall did, and his door was open most of the time.
Anyways, last weekend I went to the
Smithsonian folklife festival. Sarah-Mae and I went
last year when she was visiting, and I was excited to go again. This year’s themes were: Latin American music, words in African American culture, and Wales. I wandered through the musica latina section first, and enjoyed the groups that were playing. Next was Wales, which had some incredible demonstrations by craftsmen (and women) from Wales. There was a display with woodcarving, slate carving, blacksmithing, clog-making, stone-wall building… there was even a session on traditional Welsh song and dance and the demonstrator was able to get the entire tent of people singing and dancing – it was great to watch! The African American section was also really interesting. There was a Michael Jackson tribute area, playing his hits all day, and since the focus was on words and stories, there were a number of performances by poets, comedians, puppeteers, and storytellers. It was so entertaining!
I want to carve my name in slate like this guy!
That Welsh chick was breaking up stones with a sledgehammer - it was awesome!
Yes, her! The skinny one in the left corner!
The next day, I really wanted to continue my Welsh theme and go see Christian Bale (he’s Welsh) in Terminator 4. I even found a veggie restaurant near the movie theater. The bad news was that the theater and café were in Georgetown, which is about a mile from the nearest Metro stop. Fortunately, the weather has been gorgeous, so I didn’t mind the walk. I made it all the way to the theater when I discovered that I had read the schedule wrong, and the movie was not going to be showing any more that day. L To make matters worse, the restaurant I picked out didn’t open for another hour and a half (which would have been perfect if the movie had been at the time I thought). Anyways, the walk back to the Metro was nice.
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